Dedicated to trees!

I have,all my life,lived in a town. A town full of trees. And to top it all i live in a beautiful and cozy house almost 38 years old. With its backyard full of trees..I have always cherished the greenery all around. It reminds me of happiness.Bliss.Though I am not at all a garden person(honest confession),I always love the company of trees.May it be a morning walk through the shelter of trees on a bright sunny morning or a calm soothing breeze under a huge granddad banyan tree,I love to be soothed by the trees. They are nature's closest miracles!
The lane which I live in is beautifully decorated with trees on both the sides. The trees are like a pandal coloured in green celebrating the gift of life.My room,specifically onlooking the road benefits from it the most. The rain drops drenching from the leaves and branches keep my room lively night and day. In the summers,when I am busy studying blaming the heat,these very trees do the job of a cooler-cum-air conditioner. That too...free of cost. And above all..they do not expect anything in return. They are happy and all smiles with the yearly rain they get from the almighty and keep on spreading the happiness all around. At least to them who want it the most.
These trees are my best friends in a sense..though i never have shown it..or given any B-F-F cards to them..they indeed are! They have heard all my secrets..my late night phone calls. Seen me dancing for something that made me happy..And also..have patiently stood by my sobs. They have provided me the much needed comfort when I was home-alone. Because they are something which I always have by side. Even if I go out of station..I find them..or their long lost cousins everywhere.They are awesomeness. They have been a garage for my little moped. They have seen me growing up. From 4-wheeled cycle to a shining car..they have seen me learn things..they have seen me overcoming fears..and also having new ones.!
And one day I come home from my college. And they aren't there! They are been cut mercilessly.Reason:they were obstructing the various cables! Its logical but hard to accept. Like when a dear one is kept one a artificial life-support system. Its logical they have to go. But its hurting. I stood there..watching them leave. Classified on the basis of usage. Timber and gum. Thorns and leaves. I couldn't help it! cursed myself but didn't say anything aloud..And what was the point anyway..They weren't here to listen what I was crying for!
Next morning,I woke up early for everyone's astonishment. Reason: not the melancholy of them being cut(lets be honest),but the direct sunlight..Trees weren't there to give me that extra sleep like you get in your aunt's house in vacations! I ran to the balcony and saw the little left over portion-the base of the trees.It was so deep rooted..it was difficult to be cut down. And that made me smile a little..years from now..trees will be back again..Being a world to someone..like they were and are for me.!

Cleaning the closet and more....

                                                     The heavy Rains in satara have always given me pleasure..the scenic beauty..the calm and breathtaking nature..more on that later..but recently..what this rainy season has given me..is a solitude..but in a positive sense. While the unstoppable rains cut out the rare chances of me going places...the power cut off's or low voltage situations cancel out the entertainment sources like television or my p.c..and then I am left with my little old school radio and thus I began cleaning my closet..

                                                        Starting off with the  clothes section..I realized I had lot of them (which astonished while I had nothing to wear every morning..)Some old...some brand new..Some gifted..some earned...and what not..!! That pretty little scarf woven by a far-away grand mom...the first LBD..and off course..there were my school uniforms..with badges..belts..scarfs and ropes..The day I passed out of my school..I had promised myself that i will never give my uniforms away..I had preserved them for five years by now..and yet they looked clean and laundry fresh..I wish it could have been the same with the school days..though they made me nostalgic..the memories that once were the only part of my life were gradually fading away..like a poem you learn for a recital..and then forget it after some years even though it had given you a glazing certificate...It made me think..!! Should I keep these?? these could be a dress for someone unclothed..but what about the memories associated with it ? How could I see this later on..? but the question was..would I ever feel the need to see them again?? dilemma stayed..uniforms..they stayed too..

                                                        Then I turned to a highly private section of mine..!! the cards,diaries and stuff like that..It had almost an overview of my life until now..the personal diaries you were asked to maintain in schools..they sounded so funny..the things I loved back then were the ones I totally hated now..and the ones I was cranky about were now a part of my daily routine..I was so different back then..I hated both of the ME's..and loved them at the same time..The moral education class good thought collection..the assembly papers..the hand painted Birthday cards by friends who I no longer had a touch with..made me to think what will my closet have after ten years from now...will it have the memories of the people associated with me today like this..or will it just be the same..??? Will all this matter to me? or will it just be crap..? Isn't this the same with our minds?  

                                      Somethings,some people,some incidents made a difference for a while in our lives..as time passed..it all overcame everything..but those things occupied our minds like these things occupied my closet..I didn't need to have them anymore..it meant nothing anymore..but I just couldn't get rid of them..not back the..not now..and may be never will..but isn't this fatal?? Shouldn't we learn to get over things? good or bad..they were a past..weren't they? then why should they be affecting our todays and tomorrows..!! sentimentality is good..only if we can deal with it in real terms..! The good should just be a step to do better and the bad a lesson of what not to..and the rest..is history..

                                           

Terrorism and Indian youth..

Terrorism today is the greatest problem faced by the mankind.The unending chain of international rivalry,aggression to become a world power is killing millions of non-guilty lives. And after the series of attacks since 1993..it is a crystal clear fact that youth are being transformed into terrorists.Young minds who are in a tender age of learning ways to live a good and dignified life are seen with ak 47's. The hands that would be best seen with books and balls are full of hand grenades. What an unfortunate sight..!!
                                                               India is now very familiar to terror attacks. Rather...it is now included as a familiar phenomena like rains..Transport,business,hospitality and entertainment sector is being harmed constantly. So,isn't the Indian  youth listening to the million people who have lost their lives and something even precious than a life in these attacks? Are the youth being cowards? are they getting used to this scenario so much so that it makes them stone-hearted??
                                               India is believed to be the nation of the youth. Ask them to march on roads for publicity of a film or to break down shops on linguistic issues,they are ready. It clearly suggests that the young generation is not weak or incapable..its just wrongly focused. With international crisis hitting Indian culture and well-being..isn't it a waste of time fighting within the country for interstate and inter religious issues? They are important and need to be solved,i agree..but there is something called priority..its not the need of the hour.."Divide and rule" is once again coming into force guys..! and its now an obligatory expression for all of us to not fall prey to it.!!
                                        Parents,teachers and other educational institutions have a remarkable role in this mentality creation. They expose youth towards globalization,competition and educational thrifts...why isn't it so that no college compels its students to vote like they do for submissions? why don't parents urge their kids to opt for upsc exams ? why is that young politicians are only from the families having political backgrounds? why is politics yet a dirty game for us?
                                               Terrorism is merely not an activity,it is a mentality. Mentality of destruction and evil. It can be only fought with principles of patriotism and humanity. and who else then young minds can do it?
                                                  We blame the system,the government but never ever think of changing it. 26th jan and 15th august are just public holidays for us. I am not suggesting the youth to leave their high-profile jobs and education to join politics..but this very education and qualification can be brought into a productive use for the nation. Why not vote,pay taxes on time,use your free time working for some n.g.o.? This isn't a lot i agree..but it is atleast something larger than updating Facebook status's and sending cause invitations.!! its our share in well-being of the society..
                                  Enchanted mind can ignite fires..we have seen lot of fires burning away our dear ones,homes and places of work..Now its the time to make this fire burn bricks to re-build this distorted society and the world in general..!! make India a better place to live in..!!

Vaari and me..

                                                            I have always been a believer of god..a strong one...though I never forgot to pray every night to the almighty..I always skipped the temples when I was on sight seeing...never fasted..didn't do any of the pooja's and stuff...and yet..I believed that god existed. I believed in the energy that made the universe work...and that fixed things right..that gave justice to the good people..and punished the bad...!!

                                                          Now...I had read,heard about the vaari since I was a child. it didn't interest me at all...I didn't get the point why people..young and old..men and women,walked so many miles for 15 long days..in that scorching sun and unpredictable weather...I never found out what made this process going for so many centuries...until I myself was a part of it...

                                                            I went to the vaari..first time..last year..on 15th of july..it was merciless sunny day..with tremendous heat and not a single breeze flowing in..I began my quest for the paalkhi.I was stunned to see the bright colors flowing through the roads...people so enthusiastic and carefree about all the odds..Intially given up..I didn't even realise when I began pacing in the direction with hundreds and thousands of other people..in the only search for the paalkhi..Didn't even remembering what life I had back home..what crisis I went through..what problems I faced..I became one among the innumerable vaarkari's..cherishing the unbound and selfless happiness..It was something that was very hard to feel or express,but at the same time..very lucid and simple..The rythmic sounds in the praise of the god were the best background music my life ever had. It was like having a long lost cousin back at your place. Everything seemed so familiar. I was astonished to find myself..so very stubborn usually..to be among the people I never knew..and would probably never meet again all my life...Everyone was a "Mauli" for everone else. There hardly existed any prejudices and hence personality,looks,gender,proffesion didn't matter at all. All that mattered was the uncontaminated expression of gratitude.Everyone had it in plenty..!!

                                                      These people stayed together,ate together,lived together. Wonder how many of them knew each other's names..!! The huge pan's toasting crisp huge-sized bhaakris.The tea stalls.The police men.The n.g.o. organised medical teams. The philanthropical associations providing anything right from mineral water to mobile charging centres..vaari is not just a phenomena..it is a way of living..a culture..in a broader sense..a religion.That religion which believes in spirituality and humanity.The one which has no discrimination and will never have..I wish the international religious crisis makers ever realise what following a religion means..

                                                                      And then came the ultimate point..when the paalkhi arrived..Until then then I never beleived in Idol worship.I just didn't find it right to trap the enormous energy into a single word-singular structured object..But when I saw paalkhi..and the way people flooded towards it..I realised something. Believing in idolatry wasn't a bad either...If it granted the immense strength and energy for infinite lives..why not..!! and I let myself in the crowd.Just for one whole hearted darshan.And I saw hundreds of eyes watered and smiling at the same time,all filled with emotions..finding their own almighty in the paalkhi..I looked at them with immense pleasure and gratitude for letting me be a part of this...and didn't even realise when tiny teardrops flowed through my cheeks.The myth says..You don't decide whether you be in the vaari or you don't. Its a calling..from "mauli"  itself..and trust me..I went for it once again..and will always go...indeed..once a vaarkari..a believer for ever..!!! :) :)  

Loyal Anna

Being a daughter of a banker,i have always been associated to a huge business family of my dad's office..I have not only got extreme good friends through it..but also a great support through it whenever I needed it. I have been to variety of places where my dad worked and met different kind of people.But there are some people i never really can forget. Among them is undoubtedly that one person who taught me what working loyally actually means.
                                                         The first time I met him was a bright sunny morning. I had been to my dad's office for some paperwork.And there he was.With sandy white hair. Sheer innocence on his strained and wrinkled face that showed he was no less than 60's. It was the first month that my dad was transferred to this office and obviously I didn't know him. "who's this old man ?" i enquired. And then my dad told me his story.
                                                        He joined the bank when he was pretty young as a peon..worked really hard..made a family and settled down..but never became anything except a peon throughout his job. But he was extremely hard working and helpful employee. No one ever complained about him. And he too was always satisfied with his job.Never had any extra ambitions and taught his children and helped them to be well-off..And then came the time of his retirement..he was respectfully and timely granted a retirement with some pension according to the policies..it was the time when he needed to relax..and do all that he had missed when he was working..
                                                        But a day went or two..he couldn't accept the idea of staying at home..away from the office he had given himself to..He came back to the office one fine morning and started working..Like any employee on duty..he cleaned the floors..made the tea..opened the cabin door every time an officer went in..arranged the files..looked for the demand drafts..got them posted..everything he used to do when he was on the job.Earlier, everyone thought it's just the matter of time...but later on..things remained the same..he would be there everyday..practically..even on Sunday's..he would clean and help..and do anything that was to be done..without expecting anything from anyone..without having the thought of payments or so..and not for a day or a month..but for 10 long years...!! His children,now settled were tired of telling him to stay home and rest..and so was his wife..but he didn't listen to them at all..he had this thought of loyalty and that got him to the office everyday..
                                                     While i listened to this..he got me a cup of tea..introduced himself and enquired me about what i was studying and what college i went..He was very humble while I answered and referred to me as boss's daughter. And then it became an habit for me to visit him every time i passed by my dad's office..I called him Anna..everyone in the office did..he was there to help everyone out..He'd be the one who would delightedly distribute sweets when any of the employee's had a promotion and would boast about it so proudly as if it were his own son's achievement..
                                                     At some Sunday's..i would accompany my dad to his office..dad would work and i would study in that calm atmosphere...and there he would be..standing near my table..giving me tea now-and-then so that i could study with a good tempo..He wouldn't benefit anything from me studying and scoring good..but he took pleasure in it. One day..when I visited him,he showed me a bright red coloured invitation card..it was a wedding invitation of a senior officer's daughter..he was delighted to find out he was invited and told me he'd be wearing new clothes on the day of the wedding..and i actually found him..wearing new clothes and coming to that wedding..he was very happy..( off course he had been to office earlier that morning and done all the chores..! ). He had a hearing problem..(he was 72 ) and my dad got a hearing aid for him..He was happy and proudly showed it off to everyone..telling that 'boss had got it for him'...
                                                     Days went by and my dad again got a transfer..I couldn't see him that often..but i remembered him now n then..and one morning suddenly..we got a phone call saying he was no more..he had met with an accident..and was dead on the spot..My dad was disturbed the moment he heard it and I could see that from his face..and guess what..I couldn't help crying..We didn't have any blood relation..neither did i know him for long..but he had touched my life...and i miss him..!!
                                                          This article may not interest many.nor will it touch most of the people..but this was the only thing i could do to repay the love he gave me..today,when everyone around switches job's all the time can never know how it is to stay loyal to an organisation and its people all your life this selflessly..even i don't..but i just admire and wish I could get a bit of his loyalty to whatever I do in my life..and pray..that we all do....!!
                                                                                               
                                                        

Happiness

I was returning from my routine college the other day. Tired and pissed off due to some foolish work load. And was cursing the local road authorities for a really shabby and messed up road near my house. The repairs were going on since a week or so and showed absolutely no improvements. Rather the tar cans and stone crusher trucks made the conditions even worster. The burning sun, The shining tar and the muddy air was just unbearable. And though i was quiet comfortably covered,I was complaining silently. And then I saw something....A group of children..all under age 5..very running on those hot tarred roads...barefoot..almost unclothed..and to my surprise they had an ultimate sunshine smile on their faces..all of them...they didnt care of the sun,the heat,the entire sickening atmosphere at all..I decided to have a close look..They were kids of the poor stone crusher women. The one fighting for their daily bread..They loved their kids..Took efforts to keep them alive..And trust me the livelyness i saw on the faces of these kids was just immpossible to be seen on the faces of the kids brought up in some high class society,the one who shopped in supermalls and played nothing else but roadrash..The kids were so immensly cute..a beautiful sight to see..thier half-clothed,dark skinned bodies were all full of energy..N then i realised something what made them different from me.. They were unaware..Unaware of the complicated yet simple life they had..Unaware of the problems their parents had in rearing them..Unaware of the big bad world around...Unaware of their probable gray future..But then i thought...so what? If Being unaware was keeping them happy..what is wrong with it..? And then i realised the deeper meaning of all this unawareness stuff..We all, either happy or not..everyone of us was unaware..or may be we were unaware because we were happy..! We were not aware of the problems are maid faced...because we were so busy in making ourselves happy...just look at any general situation of any comman man's life..for instance his new job venture..he's happy and hence he is unaware of the upcoming problems he might face, because he is overwhelmed with the thought of having the job..why can't human beings just face the truth? Why do we have to depend on future and fate to teach us lessons in life.or may be just to be aware of anything ? Why do we always think our problems are bigger than anyone else's? And may be that is why we never have that fufilled,satisfied life..We just keep on complaining on everything we have got..We just are unaware all those beautiful things that have happened to us..! An instead of expressing our gratitude..towards god,nature,society we just blame others...If we just try and learn lessons from all the things happening around us..it will surely give us that kind of happiness and satisfaction..isn't it??